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Posted October 19, 2011 by Dane Jackson in Features
 
 

How Marvel Films Made Me a True Believer in The Avengers!

The theatrical poster for Joss Whedon’s “The Avengers.”

The folks behind the latest crop of Marvel superhero movies have done the impossible – they made me care about The Avengers. I’m a very cynical comic book fan (ed. Note: see Why I Hate the New Superman Costume!) and I’ve never really been keen on the heroes who make up the Avengers. I hate Captain America just as much as I hate Superman. Thor bores me, and as hard as I’ve tried, I could never get into the Incredible Hulk. I also always preferred the West Coast Avengers to the main Avenger team. What I’m trying to reinforce here is that I’m not the key demographic for the set of films that have been leading up to next year’s new Avenger flick. That being said…I can’t wait for the damn thing to come out now!

I’ve always geared my reading to the anti-heroes, vigilantes, and X-Teams. With the exception of Iron Man and Hawkeye, I really didn’t care about any of the Avenger characters. Plus, when you look at who they chose to direct each flick, it appeared initially they were all doomed to suck. I mean, the guy who directed Elf was going to take on Tony Stark? To be honest, my expectations were set so low on all of the set-up movies, each one I watched was a really pleasant surprise. And, to my delight, as Iron Man played out, it was brilliant and really started to turn my cynicism to anticipation. That anticipation grew with each movie. Kenneth Branagh directing Thor? Perfect! The guy who helmed The Rocketeer is doing a period Captain America movie? Sign me up. All the movies are also going to be loosely tied together to make me more invested in the final product? You now have my attention. Sure, I had minor gripes about each of the individual set-up flicks (the acting switch-ups of Don Cheadle for Terrence Howard, Thor’s costume, how quickly Captain America: The First Avenger wrapped up), but when looking at them in terms of the big picture, these movies are all perfect.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth, on left) and Captain America (Chris Evans) in Marvel’s “The Avengers.” © 2011 MVLFFLLC. TM & © 2011 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.

Some of my fan boy cynicism about the project still existed a bit until the director for The Avengers was announced – the one and only Joss Whedon. After he was anointed, I thought about it and he was the perfect choice. He has a strong passion for the source material, he’s responsible for one of the best TV series of all time (I’m talking Firefly, not Buffy the Vampire Slayer folks), and he’s an absolute genius. If anyone can wrangle all the A-Listers and whip them into shape it is Whedon. In fact, when I see Whedon’s name attached to any project, my mantra is “In Joss We Trust.” (Something I hold true for only one other director – Christopher Nolan.)

Joss Whedon and Scarlett Johansson on the set of Marvel’s “The Avengers.” Photo by Zade Rosenthal. © 2011 MVLFFLLC. TM & © 2011 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.

Recently, leaked set photos, official photos, and an official trailer for The Avengers have now all been released. I think I now know most of the core plot of the movie and I’m excited to see how Whedon handles it. I won’t mention my suspicions here for fear of spoilers, but no doubt it will be absolutely epic. While I still don’t like Thor’s costume (is it too much to ask him to wear a damn helmet?), everything that’s been released so far (especially the trailer where you get a first glimpse of the Hulk) has made me think of one thing and one thing only – is it May 4th, 2012 yet?

Dane Jackson

Dane Jackson

Dane Jackson has been writing about movies since high school when he had a monthly column in the school paper about cult movies. His cinematic tastes have matured (slightly) since then.